Pisa the Leaning Tower

Took a day trip from Florence to Pisa. The train ride was only 1 hour and tickets at 6 euros. The tickets can be easily purchased at the Florence train station at the ticket machine, so it's very convenient. Usually I purchase it just before leaving, so that I won't miss the train compared to buying it way in advance.


From the train station, walk opposite to a bus stop. There's a bus that runs around the city that brings people to the Pisa Leaning Tower area. It's not hard to miss as hordes of tourists will be rushing over to the bus stop. The bus was so crowded and there was this couple who started quarelling - one wanted to take the bus and one wanted to walk. Then the guy told everyone she's a pickpocket! Lol, either he's sabotaging the girlfriend or that he's really being very mean. But of course upon hearing that, i grabbed my bag tighter! 


Pisa's Cathedral Square - Past by some other monuments and cathedrals from the entrance.


Finally spotted the Pisa Leaning tower! It is known worldwide for its unintended tilt to one side. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. The tower's tilt began during construction, caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight. The tilt increased in the decades before the structure was completed, and gradually increased until the structure was stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.



Classic tourist pictures, all trying to lean/support the structure.

It is possible to take a hike up the tower, but the earlier timings for the climb was taken up. Even on the day before the trip, I tried making online reservation but it was all quite sold out,so I gave it a miss.



The fallen angel.




There's plenty of souvenir shops outside the Pisa Cathedral Square. Most of the items are similar and quite reasonable in price.
SImpons Pisa Tee.

Half a day at the Pisa would be sufficient because there's only the Tower which is of interest. Afterwhich, we went back to florence for more sightseeing. 

Munich - Back home to my Castle

I'm glad we stayed just beside the Hauptbahnhof station at Soffitel, it was very convenient as we spent most of the time in Munich travelling to other cities to visit attractions. Haupbahnhof is the central station where intercity train runs. It is so huge, arriving here a little early would be advisable to prevent missing the train! There's a ticket office and machines to get tickets easily. 

The most value-for-money ticket is the bayern ticket - 23euros for 2nd class, 5euro extra for additional person up to 4 person. A bayern ticket cost 28 euros for 2 and is really worth it, however it's only for travel within the bavaria region. 




Visiting the Disney-inspired castle - Neuschwanstein Castle.

Directions
Take the train from Munich Haupbahnhof to Füssen
At Fussen, take bus 73 in the direction to Steingaden / Garmisch-Partenkirchen 
or
or bus 78 in the direction to Schwangau until you reach the stop Hohenschwangau.


View of the Castle from a distance - simply looked like a fairytale castle set on the hilltop.



Went to the ticket booth to get tickets for Neuschwanstein Castle, but the earliest tour timing was at 5pm, and that is too late as we had to catch the train back to Munich at 6pm! In the end, bought tickets to the Hohenschwangau Castle instead which had an earlier timing, since I have been inside Neuschwanstein Castle once.

From the Hohenschwangau village, there are directions for the hike up to Hohenschwangau castle. 

Exterior of Hohenschwangau Castle and the view from above! 



Photos aren't allowed inside the castle but i managed to secretly snap some with my phone. The interior was much more detailed and grand than Neuschwanstein Castle as King Ludwig was bankrupt by then and couldn't afford to finish building the interior. 



Lovely stroll back down to the Hohenschwangau village and chanced upon a beautiful lake! 



Took a bus from the village to the drop off point, then a short hike to see the exterior of Neuschwanstein Castle. It was on a bridge and was filled with people so snapping up a spot to take picture was challenging. It's a definitely MUST-COME place to see the overview of the castle. It just felt like a scene out of the fairytale story! Cinderella's Castle was inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle, and is this castle with blue domes are all over disneyland in the world!




Munich - Mountain Climbing to Zugspitze

Visited Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany standing at an elevation of 2,962m above sea level!  I predicted that it would be ass freezing at the top of the mountain, so I layered a few pieces of summer clothes. It was summer and I didn't want to bring another set of winter clothings, it would take up probably half my luggage space!




Getting to Zugspitze 
Getting to zugspitze is really easy, with the round trip ticket at 51euros, easily purchased at the station.
1) Take a train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen
2) Take a cog wheel train to Lake Eibsee. 
3) Eibsee cable car to the Peak of Zugspitze 




The cable car ride offers spectacular views down to the lake, before new horizons open up with a powerful panorama at the Zugspitze Peak.  However, it was really cloudy today and couldn't get a clear blue sky kinda view of the surrounding.


Ice spotted! 


It was very foggy and low visibility of the surrounding! =( Wasn't well prepared for the cold and I was freezing my ass off at the mountain top. The floor was slippery and it was rather difficult to walk around. I slipped and fell on my butt, it didn't really hurt until a few days later where I felt a sharp pain in my ankle everytime I walked, and traced back the pain from the fall =( 





It was too cold to stay any longer and we went into a restaurant to hide from the cold and ordered lunch. Nice having a hot meal high up in the cold mountains.


After lunch, went out into the viewing deck and was delighted and excited to see that it was SNOWING!! SNOWING in the summer, how would I expect that!!! I love snow, but hate the aftermath of snow, where floors turn slippery and dirty, having to avoid the piles of water on the street. But the process of snowing is just magical! Snow flakes landing onto you and forms a snowflake shape, and there are differerent kind of snowflake shapes! 

His first time seeing snow and he was like a 3 year old kid jumping around! 




Munich - BMW experience

Just touched down from Munich on a 12-hour night flight. Headed to the hotel and tried to check in but the rooms aren't ready until 3pm =( So not used to this, i love to head to the hotel room and crash after a sleepless night. 

Headed to the BMW welt since JD loves cars, so I brought him to check out the BMW cars over here.

Directions
Take a train to Olympia-Zentrum. The welt is 5 minutes walking distance, shown clearly by signs along the way. 

Prices
Entrance to the welt is free, but entrance to the Museum is 10euros for adults.

Opening Times: 
Welt: 7.30am to 12 midnight (Mon - Sat)
Museum: 10am - 6pm (Tues to Sun, closed on Mon)

Little did I know that Monday was closed, and we couldn't visit the museum as it was a Monday!!  



BMW M5 series. I LOVE this blue metallic blue surface and its posh frontal! 


I love black convertible cars too, always my dream to sit in one.

Hybrid cars that have been designed to be fuel efficient!





Summer fair in the gardens. If you continue walking after exiting the welt to the Ferris wheel, you will come across this bazaar with stalls selling food and drinks. Grabbed some lunch over here and enjoyed the peaceful summer breeze on the grasspatch.



Took the Ferris wheel - it's about 5 euros each, and got a panoramic view of the area! Could see the stadium, roller coasters and the beautiful scene around.







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